Cantor spent nearly as much at steakhouses as Brat did on his whole campaign, and more must reads

Sizzle vs. steak: David Brat’s stunning defeat of House Majority Leader Eric Cantor is turning out to be a lesson in how far money goes — or doesn’t. The New York Times and others report Cantor’s campaign spent about $168,637 at steakhouses since the beginning of last year. That is compared to the $200,000 Brat spent on his entire campaign. That tidbit has provoked incredulity around Twitter:

“It’s like my life dream on steroids, right?” That’s Brat, an economics professor at Randolph-Macon College, talking to Breitbart’s Jonathan Strong. In their interview, Brat talks about watching the results come in, cites Milton Friedman as an inspiration, and has this exchange about immigration:

A group of House Republicans has been quietly gauging support for passing immigration legislation. What do you think about whether this is the right time to address the issue in Congress?

No! Absolutely not. Our economy is in a shambles, the labor markets are not functioning well, and it’s the worst of all possible times to talk about it. We need to first shut down the border and after that’s done, we always get outflanked because we don’t cover the basics first in order. You can talk immigration but only after you secure the border. I’m waiting on that.

Immigration reform: dead. That’s Jim Manley, a former aide to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, writing in The Wall Street Journal about the topic’s chances in Congress after Cantor’s loss. “The votes have been there for months to pass immigration reform, if House Speaker John Boehner were willing to take legislation to the floor. Now, however, immigration reform is dead for the year – and Republicans killed it.” Manley, a Democrat, is hardly alone in his prediction. “I don’t think you’re going to be hearing anybody else talk about immigration reform anytime soon,” GOP strategist Ford O’Connell told the Hill.

Hit the gas: The Hill reports the Environmental Protection Agency’s carbon-dioxide limits for power plants are likely to accelerate the decline of coal for electricity generation, and regulators predict most of the slack will be picked up by natural gas. An analysis included with the proposed regulation, released last week, finds if the rule becomes final natural gas would become the most common fuel for power plants by 2030.

Another try on unemployment extension: Nevada Republican Sen. Dean Heller wants President Barack Obama to get more involved with talks to revive an extension of lapsed unemployment-insurance benefits. Roll Call reports talks between Heller and Rhode Island Democrat Sen. Jack Reed are ongoing. “The president needs to get more involved in this discussion right now,” Heller said Tuesday. “I know it’s important to him…I do believe that if the president would be more engaged on this particular topic we could get something done.”

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